1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for increasing the load carrying capacity of pickup trucks, and particularly to an articulable frame arrangement for increasing that load carrying capacity of a pickup truck.
2. Prior Art
About one in four of every vehicle on the road in the United States today is a pickup truck. Those pickup trucks are often utilized as both a family vehicle and as a utilitarian vehicle for home owners and service personnel. Theirs is often a dual function vehicle.
An attempt at dual function use of a pickup truck is shown by a truck rack adapter called the Rail ""N Rack System(trademark) which permits a conversion of pickup truck bed rails into a rack. It becomes an overhead rack from a pair of bed rails. The bed rails, however, appear to require a supplemental crossbar attachment inasmuch as they are hinged at the rearwardmost point of the truck bed to provide the rear rack assembly. This is somewhat complicated. If the cross bar on the rack were constantly maintained on the side rails, they would take up valuable cargo space when the rack was not in its full upright orientation.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pickup truck with a simple, efficient, stowable rack arrangement which is not in the way of the cargo bed when the rack is not in its extended orientation but in its xe2x80x9cstowedxe2x80x9d orientation.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a pickup truck rack arrangement that is simple to set up and which rack arrangement takes up minimum space and is unobtrusive within the cargo bed or on the side rails of the pickup truck.
The present invention comprises an articulable rack arrangement for use about the bed of a pickup truck. A pickup truck is typically a truck having a wheelbase of an automobile and has a xe2x80x9ccabxe2x80x9d compartment where a driver and a passenger sits. A cargo carrying bed is disposed behind the cab. The bed may be defined by a lowermost bed support surface surrounded by a pair of parallel elongated side walls, and a forward wall immediately adjacent to and parallel to the back wall of the cab. A tailgate is typically hingedly supported from the rearwardmost end of the bed support surface and is pivotable to and from a position adjacent the back end of the sidewalls.
In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a stationary side rail may be fixedly supported on an upper edge of each side wall, and extending from a rearward point of the side wall to a mid point thereof on each side wall of the bed of the pickup truck. A generally U-shaped side rail in this embodiment is hingedly attached to the midpoint of each respective side wall, which would coincide with the forward end of each respective stationary side rail.
A forward rack comprised of a generally inverted U-shaped member is arranged fixedly attached to the bed of the pickup truck adjacent the forward wall of the bed. The forward rack has a stationary crossbar which may be preferably just above the roofline of the cab.
The pivotable pair of forward side rails in this first embodiment, are disposed on the upper edge of the respective side walls, each forward side rail being hingedly attached to the midpoint of each sidewall. The U-shaped member resides adjacent the forward end wall of the bed of the truck in an out of the way orientation when the rack assembly is not in its xe2x80x9ccargo-carryingxe2x80x9d configuration. The forward end of each of the pivotable side rails comprises a first leg which is generally perpendicular to the respective side rails. Each leg is joined to the other leg by a crossbar which resides within the bed of the truck in its folded down configuration.
When it is desired to fully establish the rack arrangement on the bed of the pickup truck, the pivotable side rails sitting on the top edge of each side wall of the bed of the pickup truck, as well as the connecting crossbar are pivoted about their corresponding rear hinge points at the proximal end of each side rail, so that the pivotable side rail is in generally parallel juxtaposition with the stationary side rail on the rear half portion of the side wall of the pickup truck. The first leg portions at the distal end of each pivotable side rail are then in a vertical orientation and the crossbar therebetween, originally residing at an inner forward location just above the support bed now extends supportedly over the tailgate portion of the pickup truck at the rear end of its bed. The crossbar portion of the pivotable side rail arrangement is thus spaced apart and to the rear of the bed of the pickup truck and the crossbar of the forward stationary rack is already supported at and parallel to the forward wall of the bed. Thus those crossbars established the articulable rack system for a pickup truck bed.
In a further embodiment of the present invention the stowable articulable rack arrangement may be supported within the side portions of each respective sidewall so as to not be visable from the outside of the truck. The proximal end of each respective pivotable side rail is hingedly attached to a midpoint of each respective side wall along an inner lip thereof. Each pivotable side rail has as in the first preferred embodiment, at its distal end thereof, a first leg disposed generally perpendicular thereto. Each first leg of each respective side of the pivotable side rail assembly is connected by a crossbar which sits within the forward end of the bed of the pickup truck when it is in its stowed away orientation.
Each pivotable side rail, as in the aforementioned embodiment, may be pivoted about a hinge point on the inner side of each respected side wall, to permit each respective pivotable side rail to be swung 180 degrees rearwardly into a fully articulated rack orientation with the rearward crossbar rack then being parallel to the forward stationary rack and crossbar in its xe2x80x9cto be utilizedxe2x80x9d configuration.
The invention thus comprises a rack apparatus for improving the cargo carrying capacity of a pickup truck. The truck has a cab portion, a bed portion defined by a bed surface and a pair of side walls and a forward wall adjacent the cab. The rack apparatus comprises a side rail arranged on each of the side walls of the bed portion, each of the side rails having a proximal end which is pivotally attached to the side wall at a mid-portion thereof, a crossbar arranged between the side rails adjacent a distal end thereof, the side rails and the crossbar being pivotable from a stowed out of the way orientation at a forward end of the bed portion to an upright orientation at a rearward end of the bed portion. The stationary rack is arranged at a forward end of the bed portion of the truck to provide a cargo carrying capacity between the stationary rack and the crossbar of the pivotable side rails. A hinge is arranged between each of the side rails and the side wall of the truck. The hinge is attached to an upper edge of the side wall of the bed portion. The hinge may also be attached to an inner side edge of the side wall of the bed portion. Each of the side rails has a leg member arranged at a distal end thereof. The legs are each arranged generally perpendicular to their respective side rails. The crossbar is arranged between the legs of the side rails. Each of the side rails may be disposed upon an upper edge of the side walls. Each of the side rails is disposed along an inner edge of the side walls.
The invention also includes a method of improving the cargo carrying capacity of a vehicle comprising the steps of: arranging a generally U-shaped rail assembly onto an upper portion of the truck, the rail assembly comprising a pair of side rails and a crossbar joining the side rails at a first end thereof; attaching a second end of the side rails onto the truck by a hinge arrangement therebetween; pivoting the U-shaped rail assembly from a first stowed out of the way position on the truck, into a second position wherein the crossbar is supported above the truck to permit a cargo to be carried between a mid-portion on the crossbar and a second portion on the truck. The method includes the steps of: arranging a stationary rack at a forward portion of the truck forward of the U-shaped rail assembly, and attaching the second end of the U-shaped rail assembly at a wall on the bed portion, positioning the hinge of the U-shaped rail assembly at a mid-point location of the walls of the bed portion, wherein the stowed away position comprises a location adjacent the bed of the truck, between ther side walls thereof.